


It keeps getting better (stay here forever)

by Silverdancer



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: Canon Universe, F/F, Fluff, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:13:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28250697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverdancer/pseuds/Silverdancer
Summary: When Handong's mark appears for the first time, it does so in a different language.
Relationships: Han Dong | Handong/Kim Yoohyeon
Comments: 17
Kudos: 102
Collections: DC Secret Santa 2020





	It keeps getting better (stay here forever)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [softbluemin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/softbluemin/gifts).



Handong stares at her arm the first time a soulmark appears. Feels her arm tickle as the lines appear, black and thin and perfect. She remembers every description she has read about them, about how they would feel, about how she would know. It’s everything she has ever read. It’s nothing she could ever describe. 

Somewhere, Handong’s soulmate _exists_. That alone is enough to make her whole world pause for a moment, lost in wonder. 

She’s still staring in awe at the marks, afraid to touch them, afraid of it being real, when the lines start to fade. It’s silent this time, no tickling as the lines sink back into her skin, nothing left behind to remember them by. 

There is no specifics when the marks will start appearing, or if they will at all. Handong is eighteen when her first one appears and it’s not until it’s gone that she realizes that she has no idea what it said.

***

Yoohyeon wonders who her soulmate is.

She looks around, thinks of everyone she knows with soulmarks, and sees them together, and happy, and wonders if there is something wrong with her. 

Her first mark, a little heart, appeared on the inside of her elbow some months ago right as she was getting ready for class. She had been ecstatic then, taking a picture of the park with her phone before it went away. _She had a soulmate_ , she had thought then. What followed were days of asking questions that were never answered. Maybe they are a private person, and they want us to know each other better before saying anything, she thought. So instead, she started giving comments on things about her life. But those never got any reply, either. 

The drawings kept appearing. Always different, always small. She wondered sometimes if her soulmate would mind her tattooing one of them in the future, and felt giddy at the prospect of a future.

Her friends had always said that talking with their soulmate, especially at the beginning, was one of the easiest things they had ever done. Yoohyeon dreams of the moment her soulmate replies. 

She wonders, of course. Has wondered for days why she never got a reply, kept herself awake until way too late at night searching for answers that could help her know if there was anything wrong with her. Read about people that could receive their soulmate’s messages but the soulmate could not receive theirs. Or about a couple where one of them were blind and couldn’t actually read the words of their marks. And what she learned was while the road was longer for them, they eventually found each other. Made it work. 

She believes they will make it, too. 

With nothing else to do, Yoohyeon goes on with her life. Of course she still wonders about them, asks them things but at some point the messages shift. From questions about what they are and how they feel to wishes for them. Jokes, sometimes. Writes about a cat that crossed her path, or getting late to class, or the lyrics to her new favorite song. She never gets a reply, but she’s not worried.

Because the same way Yoohyeon wakes up from the feeling of the marks, tingling and warm, she knows they will be feeling it too. And every time a little drawing appears someplace only Yoohyeon is able to see, Yoohyeon gets more faith to keep going.

***

To be perfectly honest, learning Korean to understand her soulmarks is not something Handong had pictured in her future.

And yet, there isn’t a single second of regret, for the moment she understands the message on her arm for the first time, not only a word, but the entirety of it. When the marks stop being drawn lines and transform, right in front of her eyes, in a message that her soulmate left _just for her_ Handong feels invincible.

Writing back, though, it’s another whole story. 

Handong doesn’t want to mess up, and so, even when she keeps her studying up, even as she practices, she doesn’t dare to write a message on her own.

Not with words, anyway.

*

They fall into some kind of dance.

Sometimes, when she wakes up to her tickling arm wishing her a good day, Handong will pick the pen she now keeps always within reach and draw a smiley sun beside it.

Other times, when Handong is bored, she will doodle on her arm for a bit and after a while a little comment will appear. “It’s cute,” or, “You’re very good!” or Handong’s favorite, “I like this a lot.” She always draws a little heart beside those, not able to help herself.

It makes Handong feel giddy in a way that’s difficult to describe. They haven’t met, they haven’t really had a conversation, but with each passing day she feels she knows her soulmate a little better. 

Even when the messages are not for Handong, she cherishes every little detail she gets to know about them. There are a lot of different messages now but Handong’s favorites are the ones that are not for her, but for her soulmate themselves. Little lists of things to do or errands to run, and half the time they do not mean anything to Handong, cannot even reply to them, but more than any other time she feels like she’s actually part of their life.

*

Then, one day, an address appears.

Handong can’t explain it, but it feels important and she finds herself reaching out and copying the letters appearing across her arm. She waits to see if another message will appear, waits so long the address fades from her arm and Handong stays there staring at her blank arm. 

The feeling doesn’t go away, even if it doesn’t feel really _hers_ , and oh, this is new. 

She doesn’t look for the address, doesn’t try to find out anything about it, feels wrong and invasive somehow -- even if it was _written on her arm_ \-- but she saves the paper, keeping it always close to her.

*

Handong wakes up one day in the middle of the night.

She doesn’t know what has woken her up at first, but her questions are all answered as she sees the words appear on her arm. 

_I hope that your dreams are sweet._

_I wish I could say this when you’re awake, but I feel like I need you here._

_I wish you were._

The words are gone as quickly as they appeared, not a trace that proves their existence. Erased by them, Handong _knows_ this, regretting writing the words already. She stays there, barely breathing, mind going a mile per minute. Because the words might be gone from her arm, they are burned on her mind forever.

 _I need you here_ , they said. 

And for some reason she can’t explain, Handong books a trip for Seoul.

***

Yoohyeon wakes up that morning with the sun, a headache, and a thought creeping on the back of her mind.

Yoohyeon’s chance at a musical career has come and gone, the decision for Minx to go on hiatus definitive without them even being able to say a word. 

They did good, the company said. _We are not giving you up._

Six months had passed from that, and they were still stuck. It was easy to keep the good spirits in the beginning, motivate each other to do better for when they had a better chance. They tried their best for each other, but it was becoming harder to not lose faith completely.

Not for the first time, Yoohyeon wakes up and wonders if they would still want to be Yoohyeon’s soulmate, if they knew. If they would rather live away from Yoohyeon, now that she has failed this terribly.

It’s not usual for idols to get a successful second chance, she knows that. And if she doesn’t have this… 

A familiar tickle interrupts Yoohyeon’s thoughts, as if they knew she was thinking about them. It sounds ridiculous even to herself, but as she caresses the little rainbow waiting for her, she wishes it were true. 

That there is something magical waiting for them after the downpour. 

That there’s hope, even for them. For her.

It’s just a little mark, but it gives Yoohyeon hope to go one more day.

***

It has been months, and Handong has not found her soulmate yet.

Some part of her had hoped that she would have found her soulmate right after landing, just crossed their eyes while walking down the street and that it would be it. She knew, logically, that it could not be that easy: for all Handong knew, they could live all the way across the country, as far away from the address they had written as possible, but it was a nice thought to entertain. 

Deciding to trust the universe, Handong goes where life takes her and accepts every opportunity she gets. Even if that opportunity is to join an entertainment company as a trainee to debut in a girl group in the near future. She has always loved to sing, she thinks, and nothing better than a job to get a crash course in her soulmate’s language. 

She enjoys the company of all the trainees that she meets with it, Gahyeon most above all. She’s younger than her and smart as a whip and she laughs at Handong’s dry humor, so when they announce that they are going to be joining the girl group that they are going to debut soon Handong thanks the universe for her gifts.

And here she is, with Gahyeon in the practice room they have spent so many hours in the past weeks, waiting for the girls they are going to debut with. It’s supposed to be a big day, with them moving to their dorm soon so they can prepare for the debut together better.

Which is why Handong is feeling so out of everything, today. She has been nervous before, but not like this. Not like she can feel the very movement of the Earth in her bones.

“I hope they like us,” Gahyeon mutters under her breath. Handong holds her hand, unsure of what to say. 

There are voices coming closer, and Handong finds herself squeezing Gahyeon’s hand harder, hoping it comforts the both of them. They are right outside the door, someone is laughing, the handle is turning and the universe just- stops. 

Handong can’t breathe, and right in that moment, with all of the universe focused on her, she thinks of her soulmate.

The door opens and time resumes its course and five girls come in, followed by a group of people that, Handong assumes, are who made all of this possible. Possibly their boss, even. 

Handong feels more than hears Gahyeon gasp beside her as she realizes who the girls in front of them are — how not to, when their faces are all around the company. How not to, when not long ago they were trained to be just like them.

She just never expected that they would be _with_ them.

***

“So what do you think of the new girls?”

Bora has barely stepped a foot in the room when Yoohyeon asks her, startling her enough to close the door with more force that she would have otherwise. The stare that she directs at Yoohyeon would have lesser men cowering. Good thing that Yoohyeon is neither of those and holds her eyes steady, waiting for a reply. 

When she doesn’t back down, Bora sighs and drags herself to her bunk. It’s likely she tries to kick Yoohyeon as soon as she lays down, but Yoohyeon’s will is stronger, and goes down the ladder to sit right beside her on the bed. 

She knows that if she annoys Bora just the right amount, she can get whatever she wants quicker — it’s a fine art she has been honing for years. And it works, of course it works, Bora sitting up, and huffing. 

“Why do you care so much?” 

Yoohyeon shrugs, a non-answer. Yoohyeon knows she notices, her nose wrinkling cutely, and she knows she’s never going to hear the end of this.

“I don’t know, it’s been a while since it has been only us,” Yoohyeon breaks, in the end, “so I am curious, I guess, to see what you think about it. I am worried about our dynamic.” 

It’s a lie, of course. It hasn’t been _that much_ , and the prospect of debuting again is filling the dorms with life again. It almost feels like things will be working out, if Yoohyeon dared to be hopeful, with Yubin and Gahyeon teaming up against the rest of them and Handong balancing their overall chaos level just by being around.

Everything should be okay, by all means. And yet, there’s something nagging Yoohyeon that she can’t quite put her finger on. 

Hence, the questioning. 

Bora must figure out some of this, because, mimicking Yoohyeon, she lays against Yoohyeon again.

“I’m just saying, the last time a member was so interested in my opinion on someone else, ended up dating them,” Bora drops. Yoohyeon almost regrets asking altogether, her face flushing without her permission while Bora watches her reaction, delighted. And then, “I am glad they are settling so well, I guess. Especially with Dongie,” Bora ponders carefully, “since she’s still learning the language.”

That’s the most Yoohyeon is going to get from Bora without being teased again, so after nagging her some more about their schedule tomorrow she climbs back to her bed. Not to sleep, but maybe to ponder some more about what’s bothering her so much, hoping to be able to pinpoint exactly what it is. 

Except when she lays down, all she can think of is that last comment. Going over it time and time again, Yoohyeon thinks about Handong, who understands them pretty well, but has trouble responding sometimes. Who keeps a pocket dictionary always in her pocket, and keeps to herself during practices, going over the parts where she has more trouble alone. 

How is it possible to notice all of this and not notice it at the same time? 

She promises herself to be better, and be supportive when she can. She has always been good with languages, so maybe she could start there.

As if summoned, there’s a tingle on her arm and a sleepy moon appears, wishing her good night. Yoohyeon takes a moment to stare at it in wonder, thinking if somehow her soulmate can tell she’s about to go to bed. Or how maybe they are just about to go to bed themselves. She’s uncapping her pen to wish them goodnight, too when a thought hits. The lack of replies, the drawings — random at first, and how they became more and more like a conversation, just never with _words_. 

What if her soulmate never replied because they didn’t understand her?

***

The question, when it appears, takes Handong by surprise.

“ _Do you speak Korean?_ ” 

Handong stares at the words for the longest time, breath caught in her throat. She wants to laugh, a bit, when she realizes the question is in Korean, and wonders what would have happened if her soulmate had asked this during their first few days. 

She feels like she has been caught in a lie, too. Which is silly, she knows, but that doesn’t stop the wave of shame crawling through her throat, setting on her chest. 

But why else would they be asking this, out of nowhere, if they don’t know? 

Slowly, fingers trembling, she writes her first words in Korean to her soulmate. _Not much_. There’s a lot more Handong wants to say than that ( _I didn’t know before_ or _I didn’t want to ignore your words_ or _Even what I know now it’s not enough_ ), but she doesn’t trust herself enough to say that in writing.

The question is fading now, and new words replace it, surprising Handong all over again.

“ _What do you speak, then?_ ” 

They are not mad. They aren’t asking why Handong didn't say, before. Or why has she been lying to them. A weight lifts from Handong’s chest, a weight she did not notice was there in the first place, and it’s replaced with the joy of realizing she’s _talking_ to her soulmate now. 

_Chinese_ , she writes.

She waits, and waits some more, and when she starts to think that maybe her soulmate has fallen asleep (it is late, and Handong _should_ be sleeping) she feels the words on her skin.

“ _Goodnight, soulmate,_ ” it reads. It’s shaky, and it reads weird in Handong’s skin.

And in _Chinese_.

***

They are in the practice room and they are taking a small break. Everyone scatters through the room, checking their phones, getting a drink. Yoohyeon is sitting against the wall, stretching.

Her eyes land on Handong, who is quietly practicing in the back, by herself. Yoohyeon is not the best of dancers, but she still finds herself walking up to her, offering a hand. 

“Want some help?” 

Handong smiles and lets herself be guided through the steps. By the time they need to start again, Yoohyeon doesn’t feel like she has rested, but with the way Handong smiles at her, it’s almost like she doesn’t need it. 

*

They have finished for the day and Yoohyeon plans on wrangling some dinner from Yubin when she notices Handong staying behind. 

“Let’s go have some dinner,” she offers. 

Handong shakes her head with a smile. “You go, I need to practice some more.” 

And oh, how has she never noticed before. Has it always been like this?

Handong might be older but Yoohyeon is a senior and she’s not going to let Handong do this to herself. 

“No way,” Yoohyeon says, walking to get Handong’s stuff, “if you want to practice more, then you definitely are going to have dinner first.” 

“Ah, but-” Handong starts to complain.

“No buts!” Yoohyeon replies, making her best Bora impression, picking up Handong’s bag from the floor. Handong is laughing when she catches up with Yoohyeon, and Yoohyeon feels accomplished for that. 

“Okay,” Handong concedes, her voice soft, picking up the rest of her stuff. “But later-” she starts as they walk towards the door.

“I said no buts,” Yoohyeon interrupts her, with the most inflexible tone she can find in herself to make. But then she turns around, walking backwards, and concedes. “After, _maybe_ , we can talk about coming back and practicing more.” 

She’s not even sure why she’s offering, but once the words are out of her mouth she doesn’t feel like taking them back.

*

In the end, it’s a surprise it doesn’t happen earlier.

They are in Yoohyeon’s favorite restaurant, a small family owned shop with owners that really treat Yoohyeon, and the rest of them, like they are their own daughters. 

She sends Handong to find a table as she walks to the bar to find the owners to get something to drink (”Just water for me,” Handong said) and let them know they are there.

“Yoohyeonie!” the owner greets her, her eyes barely leaving the dish she’s working on. “It’s been a long time!”

“We have been busy,” is Yoohyeon’s only reply. She’s not sure how much she’s allowed to say but she’s willing to bet that the least she says, the better it will be.

“Busy, huh? I’m glad. We were worried you all would have gone home.” 

It’s a weird feeling, to feel cared like that for someone who is not family. So much that she doesn’t dwell on what could have happened.

“Not going to get rid of us that easily, not with your food,” Yoohyeon teases back, earning herself a grin from the owner. 

She thinks that’s it, and turns around to look around, her eyes landing on Handong’s figure distracted by her phone. Which is the only reason she jumps so much when she hears the owner again.

“Who is your friend?” 

“She just joined the company,” she answers, not taking her eyes off Handong.

“Very pretty coworker, she seems nice,” the owner decides, “What do I get you?”

As Yoohyeon orders and then waits for their drinks, the last bit keeps repeating on her mind, feeling very wrong for some reason. _Coworker_ , she had said, and she wasn’t wrong. 

So why did it feel so painful to think about Handong that way?

There’s something peeking there in the back of her mind, the edge starting to come out when she thinks about that. It’s scary and exciting and all too fleeting, the moment gone when she spots something stuck under her shoe.

She picks it up and turns it around, expecting to see some kind of receipt, and that’s when she sees them.

Little drawings on the corner, like an afterthought. Like the ones she would doodle during class. It should have been normal, except Yoohyeon can’t stop trembling, going a mile per minute, because she _knows_ these.

She has seen them on her skin. 

“Yoohyeon-ah, here’s your order!” The owner calls for her, and she’s forced to put her revelation in the back for a little moment, taking the drinks and walking back to where she has left Handong.

She’s moving and smiling and pretending to be there, but her mind is focused on the paper in her hand. There’s nothing more important than that, because this means her soulmate is near and she doesn’t want to push but she wants to find them. She has to go, she has to find them, she decides. Yoohyeon will apologize to Handong later. She would understand, right? She-

“Oh, that’s mine!” Handong is saying, “I thought I had lost it!” 

Yoohyeon’s world stops.  
The pieces are there and Yoohyeon is seeing them all together for the first time and she can’t quite believe what this all means. She has been quiet for a long time and Handong is talking about something else, something about the dancing that Yoohyeon is failing to understand. It’s like a whole new language. 

Because the drawings were Handong’s. She just said it. And that would mean-

Handong has stopped talking, noticing Yoohyeon’s face and Yoohyeon just has to ask. She has to make sure. 

“Did you draw this?” she asks, and Handong looks at the tiny doodle weirdly, fingers going over the lines softly, and nods. Yoohyeon’s entire world stops as she decides how to do this next. Does Handong even know? 

“Are you feeling well?” Handong asks, and that makes Yoohyeon snap awake, making breathing a little easier. 

Turning the world back on.

Yoohyeon nods one, two, three times. “Do you have a pen?” she asks, and Handong provides one for her, looking suspicious. Before she even has time to ask, and god, Yoohyeon _knows_ this looks all kinds of weird, Yoohyeon is uncapping the pen and pointing it to her hand. 

Something akin to realization starts to appear in Handong’s eyes, and Yoohyeon finds herself unable to stop. “I am going to try something,” she says, and starts drawing the very first thing she ever saw drawn on her own arm on the palm of her hand. 

There’s no doubt in her mind about what’s going to happen, she’s _so sure_ already, but seeing Handong gasp, and pull her own hand to see the drawing is. Something else. 

Almost magic. 

Yoohyeon lays her hand between them, the little heart on display. Inviting Handong to take it. She doesn’t know what she’s doing, she just hopes Handong will follow. 

Handong, who looks speechless for a second, caressing her own hand in disbelief. 

Handong, who takes her hand in the end, holding it against her mouth. 

Yoohyeon can’t hear what she’s saying, but she doesn’t need to, to know they echo the words in her own heart.

_Found you_

**Author's Note:**

> A giant thank you to M and R and J for hand-holding me through this and T for the beta when neither of us could really afford it. You are all the lights of my life.   
> And if you gave this a chance, thank you as well ♥
> 
> To softbluemin, I really, really hope you enjoyed this.
> 
> Title from Shipwrecked in Atlantis, by Busted.
> 
> I'm over on [twitter](http://twitter.com/yonireads), if you wanna hang out!


End file.
